Niu
'Niu '''is a supporting character in the feature film, ''the Karate Dragon ''and in ''the Nature Dragon franchise. He's a member of the ferocious Fiery Five residing in Beijing. Background Many years ago, Niu was born to a large family of wombats who were shown to be shy, pacifistic and quiet. Due to their shy behavior, they were often pushed around by the other residents of China. Niu wanted to protect his family, so he taught himself how to fight, despite his family's protests against violence. One day, at school, Niu witnessed a bully tormenting one of his classmates. He boldly walked up to the bully and physically confronted him. Unfortunately, for Niu, he was punished for his actions. While he was sitting outside of the principal's office, waiting for his parents, he encounters Master Splinter who witnessed the physical confrontation. He informed Niu, that there was more to Kung-Fu than fighting. He offered to train Niu in the Ruby Palace. Niu eventually took residence in the palace and began to train along with the other members of the Fiery Five, who arrived soon after his initiation. Personality Niu is introduced to be a shy and kind individual with a heart of gold. When greeted, Niu talks in a soft-spoken voice. Out of all the members of the Fiery Five, Niu is shown to be kindest of the group. Even though, Niu is a ferocious fighter, he relies on the assertiveness from his teammates when verbally defending someone. Despite his shyness, Niu is very protective of his friends and won't hesitate to defend them when they're in need of help. Niu was one of the animal characters to have a lack of prejudice against humans. He was the first person to scold the Karate Lion for his ill-treatment towards Hugo. Niu usually acts as a voice of reason to the team if they're arguing. He warns them to refrain from arguing before they say something, that they'll regret in the future. Niu barely raises his voice or loses his temper. Usually when there's a time for Niu to be angry, he expresses it in a calm and mature manner. Also, when there's a time when the other characters are mad at another character, Niu remains faithful, confident and refuses to get on his friends' bad side. Niu listens to that person's side of the story before coming to conclusions. As a member of the Fiery Five, Niu's main objective is to maintain balance in China. For one, he wants the art of Kung-Fu to be used for good and not evil. As Splinter says, Kung-Fu is used for protection and not for revenge. He strongly looks up to the motto and respects it greatly by teaching other kids, Splinter's motto and how to live by it. Physical appearance Niu is a round and slightly muscular wombat with yellow fur and a short Mohawk. Originally, he didn't wear any clothes but by the end of the film, Niu wore a red shirt with matching pants, symbolizing his love of Kung-Fu and close bond with his teammates. Powers and abilities * '''Wombat Physiology: '''Niu is an anthropomorphic wombat. * '''Kung-fu skills: '''Niu's original fighting skills was simply punching and kicking. When he was trained by Master Splinter, Niu knew how to properly use his skills * '''Wombat Style: '''As a wombat, Niu is capable of using his long retractable claws against his foes, preferably for slicing through things. Appearances The Karate Boy Niu is seen training in the training room with his teammates. His leader, the Karate Lion return to the Ruby Palace with the dragon warrior, Hugo. The Fiery Five stops training, so they can meet their visitor. Niu and the others bow to show respect and they begin to help their leader with training Hugo. Unfortunately, due to Doom's spell on Hugo, he's unable to train. When the day was over, the Fiery Five returned to their rooms in the Ruby Palace for bedtime. Niu and the members were forbidden to speak to Hugo, by order of the Karate Lion. Niu remained inside his room for the remainder of the night. The next morning, Niu and the other Fiery Five members were ordered to fight Hugo as today's training exercise. Niu was the first to battle Hugo, not before saying that he'll go easy on him. Still, Hugo failed and was later kicked in a ditch by the furious Karate Lion. With a heavy heart, Niu reprimands the Karate Lion on his actions and goes over to the ditch to help him back into the palace with help from the teammates. Inside Niu's room, Hugo bonds with the Fiery Five as they tend to his wounds. During the bonding, Hugo learns about Doom's backstory and first encounter with dark magic. Hugo's time with the Fiery Five soothed his temper. However, Hugo overhears the Karate Lion coldly insulting him, prompting him to leave the Palace and China. The Fiery Five try to stop the dragon warrior but the former manages to avoid them. Niu then directs the Karate Lion to where Hugo has gone to. The next morning, the gang heads on a trip to a mountain for training and bonding time. On the mountain, Hugo successfully manages to regain his karate skills with help from the Fiery Five and Splinter. Having reconciled with the Karate Lion, the gang returns to Beijing, not before receiving news from Master Mongrel and Red, that Doom is approaching Beijing and has gotten stronger over the years. With this news, Splinter chooses to fight Doom alone while the others evacuate the city. During the evacuation, Hugo makes a self-discovery and realizes that if the gang works together as a team, they won't have to worry about losing each other. A barely alive Splinter is taken to the hospital while the others battle Doom. The Fiery Five members were in charge with fighting the guards alongside the citizens who have had enough of Doom's tyranny. Doom then crumbles into dust when his spell book is tossed into the pit of fire. Order and balance is returned to China, Splinter is magically revived and the spirits of the late Kung-Fu masters are avenged. The Fiery Five cheer for Hugo, as the hero of China and the Karate Lion as he was deemed a Senior Karate Master. Before the ending of the film, Hugo, the Karate Lion, Splinter and the Fiery Five perform a fire-dance for the Wootens, who are visiting China. The Nature Dragon: The Series Niu returns in the cartoon series as a major character. 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